Lovehead

"Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised in the whole music reviewing game, and this is one of those times. The band look like a bunch of Oasis roadies who've just woken up from an end of tour bender. They claim to be "London's Most Dangerous", without specifying what. Then they use words which should not be. "Produced by Marc Waterman (Elastica, Ash)". Elastica! Ash! Two things that should be taken out of musical history by some kind of retro time traveling nuclear strike.

So I took a couple of tranquillisers, and put the CD in the CD playing thing. And, amazingly, even through the prescription medicine fug, they turned out to be really good. They could actually be the first band who claim to be influenced by Nirvana, Joy Division and Talking Heads who turned out to be anything other than an aural abortion. I think I might be feeling a bit faint.

For sure, singer fella Ally Drummond might be rocking the Manc vox style a bit too lovingly, but I really don't care when they blast out rock and roll anthems like'Want It, Got It' and 'Moon And Whine'. It's rock without an 'aw', but as far as indie guitar rock goes, then this is the business. Yes, not everything is great, and 'Sometimes' has been struck from my memory forever, thanks to a Tibetan shaman I keep handy for such eventualities. But then the single 'Sexy Disco' arrives, all Goldfrapp meets the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at a 'Tiger Feet' themed party. And the world seems alright for a few minutes.

Then for no apparent reason, they go all "Exile On Main Street" (hallo, 'Turtle Heart'), and I forgive them for recording a dirge called 'Rock'n'Roll Star'. However, there's still time for some punk Blues on 'Dirty City', and the world gets back on its axis.

It's not perfect, anything but. However, when they get things right, they get them more right than most. Take a punt." - Zeitgeist

"Lovehead describe themselves as a "...Rock n Roll band that can't help occasionally getting all Star Trek and going nuts on a synth..." and that's exactly what we have here.

'Sexy Disco' is a dirty rock and roll track with a huge chunk of spacey synth sounds. Imagine The Black Crowes, crossed with David Bowie and Gary Numan. In a way, it's like Kasabian performing the Dr Who theme.

The synth takes less of a role in 'Rock and Roll Star', which isn't the Oasis song, but a persistent rocker with a steady rhythm and whispered vocals.

'Turtleheart' sounds like a slow version of Primal Scream, with a bit of Hammond organ to help things along. This is a plodder with a dusty urban feel. The female vocal adds a soulful tinge to the chorus.

This record does demonstrate the schizophrenic nature of Lovehead's music. The first song bears little relationship to the rest of the record, giving off a glam-rock mirage that obscures the more Rolling Stones nature of the record. However, it seems that Lovehead are the kidnappers of all these influences; bundling them all into the boot of a stolen car for their own amusement." - The Mag